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(05/02/16 11:00am)
Students can look forward to a much-needed break this summer and there is no better way to spend that time than to kick back in a cinema to enjoy the blockbusting lineup of summer movies. Just as final exams kick off, so too does “Captain America: Civil War.” The third installment in the Captain America saga is already garnering critical acclaim, giving a jolt of adrenaline to summer moviegoers. Fans of the superhero genre also have DC’s “Suicide Squad” coming on August 6. The action genre can also bolster films like “Jason Bourne,” the highly anticipated continuation of the popular Bourne Trilogy. For those of us looking for something a little more light-hearted this summer, Steven Spielberg may have an answer to that in “The BFG,” a film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel. Other adaptations set for release include “Me Before You,” a love story starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke, and “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” a sequel to the 2010 film “Alice in Wonderland.” No matter the genre preference, there is always something new coming around the corner for moviegoers this summer.
(04/08/16 5:36pm)
Doubts and existential crises of identity do not sneak up on us. They live and breathe around us, humming and whispering in the air. They weigh down on every breath that we inhale, and every particle of air we move through. Though, sanity dictates that we learn to exist without ever being cognizant of their eternally patient presence. How would we find the drive to keep looking for meaning and doing things we believe matter if navigating each day felt akin to swimming with an anchor? Cracks do appear though, and with the persistence of a toxic fog those paralyzing doubts slither in.
(02/10/16 5:00pm)
Institutionalized religion has long had a history of predicting dire prophecies for the state of humanity if every choice and action of ours does not perfectly fall within its confines. Human beings are portrayed as the embodiment of purity that are corrupted by worldly sin and are hurtling fast towards an epic doom. Preserving that so-called purity of mind and body becomes a losing battle over time, one that humanity hangs on to by a very thin thread. Every new generation and decade then brings with it its own stench of depravity. While beliefs such as these may suffice for the masses of sheep and for the shepherd to keep them beautifully compliant, they’re in reality the well-crafted tool employed to curb human voice, freedom and choice.
(02/05/16 2:40am)
“The Sound of Music” is one of those things that you grow up with without being fully conscious of its presence, like the way your childhood house smelled; you never fully notice or remember it, unless the scent drifts to your attention through a lucky accident. Our parents may reminisce more about the musical. But for us, we are not flooded with memories of it always being there while growing up until we come across it. And then, we’re taken back to songs we remarkably know the words to, even though we had forgotten where they come from.
(01/20/16 12:00pm)
If you believed 2015 was an embarrassment of riches as far as literature and book releases went, you’re not prepared for what 2016 has in store. It is not a simple feat to compile a list of the most awaited books that I believe should grace your shelves this year within the brief space of a welcome back issue. Nevertheless I shall try. The books of 2016 are serious business; regardless of the fact that I may say that every year.
(12/01/15 7:38am)
The end of anything is perhaps as inevitable as the beginning of another—everything, at some point or another, comes to an end. Be it natural or forced, ends are one of the most inevitable things we can always count on. They’re either a savior from monotony, a respite from misery or a source of grief for something long gone and that we once held dear. Endings are as much a real part of our world and who we are as perhaps the world itself. And so, as we enter the last month, preparing ourselves for the end of 2015, we’re all left asking ourselves questions that obviously concern no one but us: What does this end mean for us?
(11/30/15 3:18am)
It doesn’t seem too difficult a feat anymore for DJs, dubstep artists or electronic dance music creators to get a crowd to move with their rhythms and beats. It takes something more than just beats to transport people somewhere else though, or to introduce qualities that inspire more than just losing yourself to the music. ODESZA did that Nov. 22 in the Orpheum Theater, and they did so without ever losing the dreaminess that also accompanies their music.
(11/16/15 3:41am)
It is said that the real tragedy is not when one man has the courage to be truly evil, but when millions lack the courage to be good. We all deal with tragedy in ways that make sense to us. Anger and a bitter disappointment at what man is capable of doing to man is always at the forefront. But we fail even as we profess to be better representatives of humanity. We fail when we allow tragedies to define us as a mob of angry and bitterly disappointed people. We fail when our own disenchantment reduces that tragedy to just oil that keeps the anger burning and the hatred spreading. Out of tragedy then should rise a better version of us. Out of tragedy there should be an even fiercer raging of hope. Out of tragedy should rise a world those lost to us would have welcomed and rejoiced in.
(11/10/15 4:30am)
Human beings are notorious for their careless cruelty to each other—it’s what we’re good at. Being callous and exercising selfishness come easily to many. Is it any wonder that murder is still rampant in the world? We’ve educated ourselves and become the most advanced humanity’s ever been in every facet of technology, and yet we still kill. In many ways we’re still no different than the cavemen who came before us, bludgeoning each other with clubs. We do it with more finesse and sophistication now, but we still have the same blatant lack of respect for human life.
(11/04/15 3:09am)
Bonding over the frequent mutual butchering of our names, Wyatt Cenac and I chatted on the phone a couple weeks ago about that grave injustice. Sharing a name with a famous cowboy apparently has not fared as well for him as he would have hoped, something that thankfully cannot be said about his comedy career. An Emmy and Writer’s Guild of America award winner, Cenac spent the past four years at “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and is also a stand-up comedian, actor, writer and producer. With two comedy specials under his belt, “Brooklyn” and “Comedy Person,” Cenac also recently starred in the pilot for a show in the works with director Greg Daniels of “The Office” and “Parks & Recreation” called “The Group.” Swinging through The Comedy Club this week from Thursday through Saturday, Cenac was happy to entertain my questions on comedy, zombies and superheroes.
(10/27/15 4:53am)
Growing up in a land devoid of musicals that were the hallmark of everything Disney and magical did not deprive me of a fondness for Broadway. It also did not rob me of making sure the giants of Broadway legend were on my bucket list. I may have learned of them later, what with being across the world and whatnot, but my enthusiasm for them was never small. For a very long time, “Wicked” has topped that list for me. Perhaps it was through the new version of Oz, or Lea Michele’s obsession with the musical and the vocally brilliant performance of “Defying Gravity” again and again that I discovered it; I don’t quite remember anymore. What I do know, though, is that finally seeing “Wicked” Thursday at the Overture Center defied all my expectations.
(10/26/15 1:49am)
YouTube favorites Igudesman & Joo brought their theatrical and musical mashups with a healthy dose of lunacy to the Overture Friday. Performing their new show “And Now Mozart,” violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-Ki Joo graced Madison with what can only be described as a comic event that brought together the most unexpected genres of music and elements of theater. Trained as classical musicians from the wee age of 12, the two conquered many grand orchestras and symphonies before they concocted their currently trending madness on stage.
(10/20/15 4:36am)
There’s a certain defining moment in a concert, a moment where every single individual present disappears into one synchronized mass of human energy. It is the “white whale” moment of live music, what perhaps every musician hopes to be able to inspire. Those of us who live and breathe live music chase it with a subconscious need akin to an addiction. The rush and feel of being in attendance for that visceral experience is like no other. Of all the concerts I’ve been to and live music I have lined up for, I have been privy to that only once in my life. Well, that is until last Wednesday.
(10/13/15 2:01am)
What is it about the vastness of space that has had human beings transfixed from day one? We barely gain cognizance of the land around us before we start looking upwards and beyond. The sky in all its magnitude and infinite horizon is endlessly fascinating to us. Our desire to explore beyond what we know and into the mysteries of space epitomizes everything about human curiosity. Be it the love for NASA, movies set in and around space or the plethora of literature penned on it, we have always collectively yearned for what’s out there, and the possibility of understanding it more than anything else. It may very well be one of the last remaining things the inhabitants of Earth can find joy in sharing.
(10/08/15 2:08am)
Glass Animals’ performance at the Orpheum Tuesday night had everyone in attendance thankful for the difficulty of medical school. Lead vocalist Dave Bayley, the brains behind their psychedelic indie sounds meshing with soul and R&B, was, incidentally, once upon a time a student in medical school. Lucky for us, he soon realized his calling lay in creating music that attracts one of the most eclectic music crowds I’ve ever seen in Madison. Perhaps one reason perhaps why this concert brought together fans of such different genres is the addictive quality of Bayley’s music. Anyone who has ever experienced the first slow wave of getting tipsy or high would have been able to recognize that same feeling when Bayley launched into their first number, “Walla Walla,” and the wave climbed from there.
(10/05/15 4:23am)
Living is hard. We do not take even one innocuous moment within our day to think how hard, but it’s hard. We make a conscious decision to live everyday, with everything we do. Just the mere act of getting up each morning is actively choosing to live. All our little actions and thoughts that follow in succession, are evidence of our will to live. But it’s never easy. Especially when life doesn’t give us so many of the answers we so badly need. Where does one find the strength to continue living then, to make the decision to open our eyes every morning?
(09/29/15 3:30am)
I am not a fan of country music, and, as such, I’ve never quite understood the great furor it inspires. Like most rap music, it all sounds the same to me. Not to quote the same old clichés, but every song seems to be about a woman, beer, trucks and the country. With that twang, oh the twang, that is the hallmark of all that is country. I’m foreign and I knew how to recognize country music before setting foot on American soil. Admittedly, it does have some redeeming qualities as far as entertainment and charm go. I did, after all, go to the South and line dance to “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” at a real honkey tonk. Yes, it happened.
(09/28/15 2:29am)
I don’t think that the majority of us have the full ability to comprehend what addiction is. We use that word carelessly, as we do most words in our life. We claim to be addicted to that new song by Kanye or the guacamole at Chipotle but as obliviously as we may insist otherwise we do not need these things for survival or for some semblance of peace in our mind. True addiction is a clawing need inside of your skin that breathes with a life of its own. It is the desperate longing for something so intense that nothing but the object of your addiction exists. It is a hunger so deep you can feel it in every crevice of your mind. While we may never understand what it truly means to go through something like that, words left behind by others can show us a rare glimpse into the mental battle addiction entails.
(09/23/15 3:29am)
The tale begins with me stumbling on to Nancy Jo Sales' feature in the September issue of Vanity Fair, "Tinder and the Dawn of the Dating Apocalypse." Putting aside my thoughts on the piece for now, I did what I always do when I come across something relevant and titillating—I texted it to my friends to garner their thoughts on it. What ensued was somewhat of a heated debate over text which, in a way, wrote this week’s column in itself. People use Tinder as casually and commonly as Facebook now. We’re also either pretending we haven’t used it, and hence sticking to our lofty state of judgment, or we’re part of a couple who wants to see what else is out there. So we have opinions—oh so many opinions—about Tinder.
(09/21/15 4:41am)
What makes a great musical? More importantly, what makes a musical great when it’s already set in New York, has the turbulence of when the city was developing and masterfully reveals to us the beginnings of it being the place where dreams are heralded. “Newsies” simply adds the whimsical charm of misunderstood rebellious young men, leading a ragtag group of lost boys to a cause that marks the beginning of change. The musical is based on the 1992 Disney movie that starred a young Christian Bale, which sadly paled in comparison to other Disney masterpieces of the time such as “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Tarzan” etc. So considering its history you would think the musical stood no hope of being such a hit, that is if it hadn’t immediately generated a large cult following that called themselves “Fansies.” The rest, as the cliché says, is history.